There hasn't been anything official about Abu Dhabi kicking Gulf Air out.

It is true that Etihad Airways flying to BEY and DAM was started up by Abu Dhabi, but some are saying they will simply compete along with Gulf Air.

My personal opinion however is they will eventually be kicked out, but not for a few years at least. When this happens, they will have to rely on Bahrain.

My assumption is Gulf Air just will not expand itself like many have said.

They will become Bahrian's national carrier. Bahrain is a very good market, not just for Bahrain itself, but it serves the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia since Dammam Int'l is losing service every year due to very high operational costs and unprofitability.

GUlf Air will do fine, but they won't be as strong as they used to be if they lose Abu Dhabi.

Hopefully they will join One World as has been discussed. This will greatly help them and the One World alliance.

Regards

"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran

I understand that GF got a contract with the UN to operate JFK-GVA-BAH but that was awhile ago, may have been based on the assumption that the UN would be involved in the rebuilding of Iraq, which is now a US-run show exclusively. Would still be nice to see the Golden Falcon back in NYC, especially with their "I Dream of Jeannie" girls. I flew GF back in the '90s and I thought they operated a good service, very nice people and much less impersonal than EK, BA, AA, etc. I hope they do well, Abu Dhabi is only hurting itself by trying to compete with GF as AUH has already lost alot of its direct service from Europe (no more LH, AF, SR, KL, etc) and currently only gets nonstop from BA and GF, if they run out GF it will just leave BA as the only nonstop from anywhere in Europe. If they are thinking Etihad will pick up the slack, good luck to them as they have no brand image or reputation outside of, well, Abu Dhabi.

It's pity what is happening in the Gulf region. I think what Gulf Air stood for in the past was good, one airline for the many sultanate and Emirates (like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman etc..). Now all these States are forming there own airlines going against the worldwide commercial trend : merging airlines to make bigger carriers to compete as a region ( KLM and Air France, JAL and JAS, maybe Qantas and Air NZ and many others throughout the world).

I know Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways are very good airlines. But wasn't it better to invest that money in Gulf Air in the first place and make of GF a strong global company for the Gulf Region ?

I don't think in let's say 15 to 20 years there is enough room for all those carriers in the Gulf. Mergers will come and maybe some will be lost (I think Gulf Air will be one those disappearing, or through name or bankruptcy).

You have Emirates, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Oman Air, Saudi Arabian, Kuwait Airways and newcomer Eithad all competing for such a small market (small population but with a lot off money) and also competing for the Europe to Asia/ Australia v.v. with the established and respectable European and Asian/Australian airlines.

I used to live in Abu Dhabi and I can tell you there is alot of national pride and local rivalry, not only between the Gulf States but even among the 7 emirates of the UAE. They tend to view having their own airline as a sign of prestige, and even though it's inefficient, they mostly have the money to start one. As for competition, of course, they all think their own airline is the best and it's the others that will go out of business. Unfortunately, they will all just end up hurting each other and it seems like only EK will be sure to survive, since they got a head start and are based in DXB, which is the commercial and tourist center of the region.

From what I have seen, operating an airline with more than one base is a hopeless affair - too many chiefs wanting their own nonstops to everywhere. It didn't work for Air Afrique (what a mess that was!) and it probably can't work long-term for Gulf Air either.